Story #225 - The Doctor, the Widow and the Wardrobe (2011)

Harry -

Wow, I had almost zero recollection of this story. The only thing I remembered from "The Doctor, the Widow and the Wardrobe" was the Doctor's running "I know!" gag as he presented the guest characters all the wondrous things he'd put together for them in the big empty house of refuge.

Sarah -

I only thing I remembered was that there was a woman with her two children. I imagine it was challenging to follow "A Christmas Carol", which I consider to be the best of the Christmas Specials.

Harry -

This one adhered to the usual formula for the specials, in that there is little to no continuity and these are stand-alone adventures. It opens with a bang, literally. Some explosive scenes on a spaceship have the Doctor running around before he is pitched into space and plummets to the Earth. That's a familiar image.

Sarah -

Moffat has given us so many father stories that it's time for a mother story, I guess. Madge and her children head off to her uncle's country estate for Christmas. The uncle seems to be missing but the caretaker welcomes the family. The Doctor knows that Madge has received a telegram that her husband has died and he turns the estate into a fun house for the children.

Harry -

Cue the "I know!" sequence. The kids seemed interested but less enthused than the Doctor. So he fires up a Christmas tree complete with a mysterious present underneath. Seeing as it's the only box under the tree, little Cyril can't resist opening it up. Inside is a transdimensional gateway to a snowy landscape (but don't say Narnia! maybe they didn't secure the rights). Cyril wanders off and so begins act two.

Sarah - 

Kids are always wandering around and getting lost.

Harry - 

With the Doctor and Lily in pursuit, Cyril finds a stone tower guarded by two living-wood creatures. The wooden king and queen were very well realized.  Watching this again, it reminded me of The Green Knight, which came along a decade later.  The first impulse is to assume they would pose a danger to Cyril, but I enjoyed their slow movements and hoped for the best.

Finding the entire house empty, Madge follows everyone into Don't-Say-Narnia. She encounters someone completely unexpected and so the Moffatty twist arrives.

Sarah - 

Madge has had enough of this situation and will save her children with the "mothership." 

Harry -

I also forgot the blink-and-you-miss-it cameo by Bill Bailey, who had a much more prominent role in Black Books, one of my all-time favourites.  Here he plays one of three crew of said mothership, which is there to deploy acid rain to disintegrate every living tree on Don't-Say-Narnia, before Madge takes control of the situation.

Sarah -

Madge absorbs the life force of the forest, allowing her to direct the top of the lighthouse as an escape pod away from the acid rain and into the time vortex. 

To get them home, the Doctor directs her to think of memories of home, allowing Madge to revisit her fond memories of Reg. The Doctor urges her to continue to show even Reg's death, revealing to Lily and Cyril what happened to their father. The Doctor steps outside while Madge starts to explain Reg's death to Lily and Cyril, but he returns to interrupt her and to tell her to come outside. There stands Reg after he had followed the bright light of the escape pod into the time vortex and came out safely along with the pod at Dorset. The family has a tearful reunion as the Doctor watches.

The family is united and the Doctor is off to Christmas with Amy and Rory, who haven't seen the Doctor in two years. 

Harry -

Nice to see the Ponds again even though they've barely been away from the Doctor's life as we continue along this marathon.

Sarah -

"The Doctor, the Widow and the Wardrobe" is probably the least of the Christmas specials. I didn't remember much of the story but it's not a bad story. 

Harry -

It was okay.  Nothing really stood out.  Bill Bailey seemed wasted in a tiny role, like Olivia Colman.

Sarah - 

Best Line: 

Lily: I don’t understand. Is this place real? Or is it fairyland?

The Doctor: Fairyland? Oh grow up, Lily! Fairyland looks completely different.

Favorite Moment: Cyril and Lily find the Christmas surprise from the Doctor.

Lasting Image: Cyril entering the snowy landscape.

3/10

Harry -

Best Line: "I know!"

Favourite Moment: "I know!"

Lasting Image: the wooden king and queen

5/10

Our marathon continues with Story #226: Asylum of the Daleks...

Story #224 - The Wedding of River Song (2011)

Sarah -

Well, that was a lot. I don't think I've watched it since it first aired and I'm not sure I'll want to watch it again.

Harry -

I concur Sarah. *uncorks a bottle of wine and pours two glasses* Here's to getting through another season on the Sofa. I had another reason for breaking out the vino, but for the moment, Cheers old chum!

Sarah - 

Cheers, Chuck!

Harry - 

The memory plays tricks. The lasting impression I had of The Wedding of River Song was that it was a typically complex and frenetic Moffat mindbender. It was all that to be sure, but I forgot that it was all jammed into 45 minutes, rather than the three hours I had implanted in my mind. It quite literally flew by. Sure, we were still meeting new characters in this one, and revisiting many familiar ones. In the end, maybe I just wasn't invested enough for any of it to matter. This is one of my least favourite seasons of Doctor Who.

Sarah - 

It's all a whirlwind form me. So much happens that I'm still confused. 

Harry - 

However, the Doctor survived. Amy and Rory survived. Their baby survived and married the Doctor. Why not! I say Cheers again old girl!

Sarah -

I'm definitely on the side of everyone surviving. I'm also happy that this isn't River's last story.

Harry - 

Credit to Moff. He pretty much took the several dozen different story strands of this season and managed to pull them all together in the end. From the wild scenes of the season opener in Utah, to the Teselecta, to the meaning of the Silence, to Dorium's demise and Kovarian's comeuppance and all the little bits along the way. Somehow it all got wrapped up. Don't ask me to explain any of it though. More wine?

Sarah - 

Open that second bottle, Harry. Let's sit in the garden with Amy, Rory, and River and remember our times with the Doctor, who is still alive.

Harry -

The scene in the garden where everyone is sipping wine and chilling out is one of my favourites.  Everyone can finally relax.  Leave Trenzalore for another day.

Sarah - 

Best Line: Shut up! I can't let you die, without knowing you are loved. By so many, and so much. And by no one more than me.

Favorite Moment: The somewhat uncomfortable Time Lord wedding ceremony

Lasting Image: A girl and her parents enjoying some wine

5/10

Harry - 

Best Line: 

AMY: So, you and me, we should get a drink some time.

RORY: Okay.

AMY: And married.

RORY: Fine.

Favourite Moment: chilling in the garden with wine.

Lasting Image: I agree with your choice Sarah.

6/10

Our marathon continues with Story #225: The Doctor, the Widow and the Wardrobe...

Story #223 - Closing Time (2011)

Sarah -

Well, that was fun.

Harry -

Rewatching this felt like rediscovering a forgotten gem. Maybe because it was buried deep down the schedule right before the season finale, maybe because it was a “Ponds Lite” story, maybe because it was a different kind of one-off. Whatever the reason it was nice to see this one again.

Sarah -

It’s lovely to see the Ponds but it's heartbreaking when the Doctor has to stay away from them.

Harry -

Good to see that had the Doctor never returned, the Ponds would have done well.

I also remember back when this one was first broadcast, the excitement to see a Cybermat again. Although the Cybermats of the 60s did not have biological mouths and fangs, which was new.

Sarah -

Cybermats are cool!

Matt Smith and James Corden have great chemistry. I love that the Doctor and Craig get to have another adventure and this time with a baby! Alfie, aka Stormageddon, Dark Lord of All, is adorable and an excellent addition to the team.

Harry -

From the awkward social calls to solving the Cyber-mystery, it was a neat little adventure. Meeting Stormageddon seemed to put the Doctor into an introspective mood. Thinking about his age and the passage of time, and the coming silence that is to fall. Matt Smith did "tired" very well.

Sarah - 

I appreciate that the Doctor talks to kids like adults and adults like kids. 

Harry -

So many times we've seen someone's life thrown into chaos or worse when they meet the Doctor. Craig's was certainly thrown into chaos, but he came out of it stronger for it, and with Stormy's newfound approval.

Sarah - 

Babies know what’s what. I’m glad the lads have a deeper understanding after this event. 

Harry -

The coda of the story reminds us that the Doctor's fate is about to finally collide with that of Melody Pond/River Song. The season-long story arc is about to conclude.

Best Line - "I speak baby." An iconic line for sure.

Favourite Moment - The Doctor and Craig investigating at the shoppe.

Lasting Image - Stormageddon!

8/10

Sarah -

Best Line: 

DOCTOR: See, I do come back.

CRAIG: How did you?

DOCTOR: Time machine. But even with time travel, getting glaziers on a Sunday. Tricky.

Favorite Moment: The Doctor in the toys department

Lasting Image: adorbs Stormageddon!

8/10

Our marathon continues with Story #224: The Wedding of River Song...

Story #222 - The God Complex (2011)

Harry -

This one felt like a story of two halves. There was the half I liked, and the half I didn't like.

Great opening set up with a nod to The Shining. The pre-credits sequence shows a disoriented police constable wandering the corridors of a horror hotel. The TARDIS arrives and the team encounter a group of people on edge. Are they victims, prisoners, bait? An array of photos on the walls suggests that the place is a trap. It's a puzzling and disorienting place, the atmosphere heightened by some fantastic camera work, plenty of jarring angles and anxious close ups.

Sarah -

I had completely forgotten this story, so it felt brand new. Every room contains the biggest fear of someone at the hotel, with a minotaur feeding off their faith. The most concerning room was Amy’s, which was not the Weeping Angel, but that she was waiting for the Doctor at the door of her childhood home. Amy had so much faith in the Doctor that he had to break her down to save her. Meanwhile, Rory all his faith in the Doctor and wanted to go home.

Harry -

Oh the obligatory (and foreshadowy) Weeping Angel.

We might as well pivot to the half of the story that I didn't like. That was the minotaur. After being menaced for a few scenes, the group face the big hairy thing, a cousin of the Nimon as pointed out by the Doctor. For a creature that feeds off its victims' faith, I would expect something less earthy and more elevated. A creature of light and spirit. Something shimmery, floating in the air. The minotaur looks like it would prefer to eat people's flesh. So the divergence of the creature from its modus operandi didn't work for me.

Sarah - 

As irritating as the minotaur was, Rita was brilliant! She would be a great companion, until she started saying, “Praise Him.” I quite liked her.

Harry - 

We have also seen previous instances of the Doctor forcing a friend to lose their faith in him - Sarah Jane and Ace come to mind. Seeing it happen to Amy was not all that unique.

I did love the horror hotel though, right down to the ugly carpeting. It was a great set up, but the payoff was disappointing.

David Walliams' Gibbis was an amusing addition to the aliens of the Whoniverse. Meek on the outside, conniving on the inside.

Sarah - 

Walliams irritates me, even when he is in costume.

Harry - 

At the end, the Doctor bids an emotional goodbye to Amy. For the air of permanence they gave this scene, we know it's not really goodbye. Just another weak note to the episode overall.

Sarah -

Watching "The God Complex" the first time, we thought we were saying goodbye forever…but I’m glad we have a little more time. 

Harry -

Best Line:

The Doctor: "This is a cup of tea."

Rita: "Of course, I'm British, it's how we cope with trauma. That and tutting."

Favourite Moment: entering the room with the creepy ventriloquist dummies, an all-too-brief moment

Lasting Image: the portraits on the hotel walls

5/10

Sarah - 

Best Line: 

RITA: Why is it up to you to save us? That's quite a God complex you have there.

Favorite Moment: The final moment when Amy telling Rory the Doctor saved them

Lasting Image: Amy at the door

7/10

Our marathon continues with Story # 223: Closing Time...

Story #221 - The Girl Who Waited (2011)

 Harry -

Well, my gut has been duly wrenched. What about you, old girl?

Sarah -

I didn't remember all the details of this episode, but I definitely remembered the trauma. Amy and Rory have been through so much.

Harry -

Writer Tom MacRae is not a familiar name so I looked him up. His only other work for Doctor Who was the Tennant story "Rise of the Cybermen/The Age of Steel". So he's written one blockbuster-type story, and this one which was simple on the surface but packed an emotional wallop.

Sarah - 

Here we are in the Doctor-light episode, but he’s still making the decisions. The TARDIS Team arrives at Apalapucia, a holiday destination and Amy goes back to get her mobile phone. The Doctor and Rory press the green button and when Amy comes back, she presses the red button, landing them in different rooms and different timelines. When the TARDIS lands in Amy’s time stream, Rory is attacked by a warrior – who is Amy 36 years later. 

Harry - 

I'm usually not big on stories where one of the characters ages dramatically. In this case the aging process was natural. Karen Gillan was incredible playing a lonely, embittered Amy who was left to fend for herself for 36 years.

Sarah -

Being embittered seems entirely reasonable after being abandoned by the people she most trusted. If I remember correctly, this is when their trust in the Doctor starts to break down. It’s easy to understand why she hates the Doctor.

Rory is thrown off by this older version of Amy, but he knows it’s Amy and he still loves her. The Doctor lies to Rory, telling him that both Amys can be safe in the TARDIS, but the Doctor has no plan to let the older Amy inside – Blinovitch Limitation Effect, or whatever. The Doctor seems repulsed by the older Amy and makes the decision that everyone has to live with. Amy won’t remember this, but Rory will. 

Harry - 

The facility was a creepy place, all wide concourses and sudden gardens with "robots of death" chasing Amy around.  As Rory asked: "Where is everyone?"  Other than the brief appearance of an onscreen interface, the TARDIS team were the only human characters in the entire story.

Last season we had "Amy's Choice" and here we had Rory's choice.  His dilemma at the end was horrible, and the Doctor forced the decision in the end.  They would have had to spend a long time processing and recovering from this experience.  Like I said at the start, this was a gut-wrencher.

Sarah - 

Best Line: "I love you, too. Don't let me in. Tell Amy, your Amy, I'm giving her the days. The days with you. The days to come."

Favorite Moment: When Amy remembers how much Rory loved her.

Lasting Image: “Old” Amy and Rory on opposite sides of the TARDIS door. 

7/10

Harry -

Best Line: "I'm gonna pull time apart for you."

Favourite Moment: the TARDIS team's initial explorations, because it all went downhill from there.

Lasting Image: warrior Amy kicking robot ass.

7/10

Our marathon continues with Story #222: The God Complex...

Story #220 - Night Terrors (2011)

Harry -

Here's the Series 6 edition of a Mark Gatiss journey into terror. And it happens at night so the title is perfect.

Sarah - 

I was looking back on Gatiss’ stories and it hit me that his stories tend to stand alone. That’s probably a bonus for the showrunner when working on the series arc. Also, I think this may be his first episode that isn’t set in the past.  

Harry - 

Apart from the alien twist, this was a pretty straightforward creeper. The cupboard in a child's bedroom is the focal point, which as the Doctor acknowledged is often a source of terror. It was mildly disappointing that Moff didn't have a hairdryer or carton of milk become the horrific thing. A cupboard is almost blasé.

Sarah - 

The Hairdryer of Fear is a catchy title. "Night Terrors" is a very middling episode, so much so that I couldn't remember anything about the story until the creepy dolls turned up. Sending the surrounding humans to the dollhouse was an effective horror location. Everyone is sent there in a horrifying way – an elevator, the living room carpet, and the garbage bins – which makes it more interesting when we don’t know what to expect. 

Harry -

Elevator, carpet and garbage bins: there was a Moffaty horror twist on the ordinary after all.

Sarah -

Children actors often get slagged by Doctor Who fans but I think Jamie Oram’s performance as George was strong. I love the Doctor making a house call to save and play with George. There isn’t really a villain in the story and everyone lives in the end so that’s good. 

Harry -

Jamie Oram was so restrained, his face telling the story, a great performance.  

Sarah -

The Doctor helps Alex understand why his son isn’t like other children, but the story turns way too sappy at the end. So many of Gatiss’ stories are about father’s and sons and they can end up feeling so cliche. In the end, Alex learns to love his alien son, mum comes home from work and everyone lives happily ever after, I guess. 

Harry -

Someone will eventually write a study of how the making of Doctor Who was therapeutic for many of the people involved with the show.

As a standalone tale, "Night Terrors" was a decent diversion from the season arc.  It feels like the Ponds got very few standalones, maybe I'll do up a tally after their final episode.  Anyway let's wade back into the arc!

Sarah -

Best Line: 

"Planets and history and stuff. That's what we do. But not today. No. Today, we're answering a cry for help from the scariest place in the universe. A child's bedroom."

Favorite Moment: 

The Doctor and George playing with toys

Lasting Image: 

The creepy dolls

5/10

Harry -

Best Line:

DOCTOR: Haven't done this in a while.

AMY: Haven't done what? What are you doing?

DOCTOR: Making a house call.

Favourite Moment: 

I loved the shot when the TARDIS materialized and was reflected in a puddle.

Lasting Image:

Amy converted into a creepy doll.

6/10

Our marathon continues with Story #221: The Girl Who Waited...

Story #219 - Let's Kill Hitler (2011)

Harry -

They didn’t even kill Hitler! Classic Moffat misdirection in order to tell a completely different story.

Sarah -

Remember how mad everyone was and then he ended up in the closet for most of the story. That said, it didn’t have to be Hitler in a story that is about the complicated relationships between the four characters. Amy, Rory, and River/Melody/Mels are the center of the story.

Harry -

Seriously it could have been anyone, anywhere. The nanotech-employing, justice-deploying force known as the Teselecta could have been after any other criminal in history.

Sarah -

We meet Mels for the first time when they’re teenagers and Mels gets Amy to realize that Rory loves her. And then they name their baby after the person who brought them together. Timey wimey, indeed.

Harry -

The timey-wimey reveal about Mels was mind-blowing. For all the shocks and revelations the Ponds have had to endure throughout their lives, they took it in stride. By now they know to expect the unexpected. River arrives in a burst of fun and immediately sets out to kill the Doctor, as she was programmed to do.

Sarah - 

And we think our families are difficult! At least they’re all on the same timeline. 

Harry - 

This episode really flew by, it almost felt like one of the Moffat era's mini-episodes. It made me wonder if we really needed a season-long arc to describe River's origin story. So much time went into the mysteries and the reveals. This season has always been my least-favourite and this is part of the reason why. 

Sarah - 

As much as I love River and Alex Kingston, the arc does go on a bit. Watching the series the first time, I recall being confused every week, forgetting what was going on in the previous episode. Rewatching this time, it all makes more sense, but it’s still the most Moffaty series of Moffat’s series. 

Harry - 

Agreed, it makes much more sense on a rewatch, even with longer gaps between our viewing of episodes.  

The new era of Doctor Who delves so deeply into the lives of the Doctor's companions like the classic series never did. I still prefer a series of bouncy stand alone stories over a season-long arc that needs to be watched all the way through to be appreciated.

Sarah - 

One of my favorite things about contemporary Doctor Who is that it does delve into the lives of the companions and how traveling with the Doctor impacts them. 

Harry - 

By the end of this breezy piece, Hitler's in the closet, the Ponds have met their now-grown-adult daughter who regenerated from their childhood friend, the Doctor has been saved from the assassination plot when River herself sacrificed her regenerative energy to revive him. It's as Moffaty a story as they come.

Sarah - 

‘Tis. Ready for some Night Terrors?

Harry -

Let's do it!

Sarah -

Best Line: "Well, I was on my way to this gay Gypsy Bar-Mitzvah for the disabled, when I thought gosh, the Third Reich's a bit rubbish. I think I'll kill the Fuhrer. Who's with me?"

Favorite Moment: The Doctor asking if there’s someone left in the universe he hasn't screwed up yet.

Lasting Image: River on the motorcycle.

5/10

Harry - 

Best Line:

RORY: Doctor, River was brainwashed to kill you, right?

DOCTOR: Well, she did kill me, and then she used her remaining lives to bring me back. As first dates go, I'd say that was mixed signals.

Favourite Moment: Alex Kingston's newly-regenerated self checking herself out.

Lasting Image: Hitler placed in the closet.

5/10

Our marathon continues with Story #220: Night Terrors...